Food for the Mind, Body, and Soul

Tag: baked goods

Happy 4th of July! I wasn’t planning on writing a blog post today but I whipped up these amazing brownies to bring to a barbecue and I had to share. If you’re looking for an easy, quick dessert to bring to a gathering, try these delectable bites of bliss. This recipe requires having a few very ripe bananas (like the stage before they turn brown) on hand. If you don’t have bananas, try an equal amount of apple sauce or dairy-free yogurt.

Last Minute Banana Chocolate Chip Brownies

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour (I always use whole grain flour for extra fiber in my baked goods, but if you don’t have it, all-purpose flour will also work)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup or agave nectar

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use trader joe’s brand)

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk or soy milk

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 cup sunflower oil or almond oil (or you can use vegetable or canola oil if you have those instead)

Fall is my favorite season, partly because I love crisp, cool weather, but partly because there is just so much pumpkin-flavored food to enjoy! Last fall I made pumpkin spice muffins, which were good, but I needed to tweak the ratio of spices. This time I think I’ve mastered it, however, I made a pumpkin bread instead of muffins because I wanted to change up the recipe a bit more.

Something about baking makes me quite introspective (see some earlier posts here, here, and here). As I was baking these muffins, I started to reflect on how food (and really anything that brings us pleasure) is a lot more enjoyable when you actually work for it. It’s easy to buy food that other people prepare, but when you actually prepare your own food and take time to learn about what appeals to you, the result is a lot sweeter (…or saltier depending on the recipe 😉 ). Obviously, as the writer of a food blog, I’ve realized this quite a long time ago, but sometimes you have to remind yourself to enjoy your own hard work and recognize that the best things are things that you can imagine, work for, and create (and that goes way beyond the topic of food!)

Back to the muffins, the following recipe is full of fiber and antioxidants from the wild blueberries. If you can’t find wild blueberries, regular blueberries (fresh or frozen) will work just fine.

1 cup non-dairy milk (I used hemp milk for this recipe). Add more if needed.

1.5 cups frozen wild blueberries

1/2 cup oat bran

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and oat bran together in a large bowl and mix well.

Add the oil, applesauce, non-dairy milk.

Add the wild blueberries (no need to defrost if you’re using frozen ones).

Grease a muffin tin or use muffin tin cups. Using a spoon, transfer the muffin batter into each cup evenly.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. The muffins will be ready when golden in color and if the “toothpick test” comes out clean (insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin. If done, none will remain on the toothpick after removing if from the center of the muffin).

If you’re wondering about the title of this post, let me explain. I created this recipe while being awake at 6 AM which is just a few minutes past sunrise where I am, and thinking about how I really wanted a brownie. As a nutrition enthusiast, I realize brownies are not an ideal breakfast food, but a girl can dream and dreaming leads to creating. Make no mistake, these definitely aren’t a health food, but using whole grain spelt flour adds a bit of fiber. These brownies aren’t super chocolatey, so feel free to add chocolate chips or something else to add more flavor.

Ingredients:

1 and 3/4 cups of whole grain spelt flour or other whole grain flour of your choice (use brown rice flour to make this gluten free)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

7 tbsp. cocoa powder

2/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/4 cup dark agave nectar

1 cup unsweetened soymilk

1/2 cup earth balance vegan spread

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Measure dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder) and mix together in a large bowl.

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been in a baking kick for the last few months. Something about the colder months makes a warm baked good even more tasty (and I don’t think anyone will ever complain about the scent of freshly baked cookies/muffins/bars etc. filling up the house). My latest recipe is a combination of a few of my favorite things: maple syrup, nuts, and chocolate chips! I made these in bar-form, but if you’d prefer a cookie, you can simply use a cookie sheet instead of an 8×8″ baking pan. You can also swap gluten-free flour for the wheat flour if you’re following a gluten-free diet.

Just because the holidays are over, doesn’t mean you have to get out of the holiday spirit! If you went overboard on cookies and other sweet things for the past few weeks but can’t get rid of that gingerbread craving, don’t fret. The following recipe is sure to delight gingerbread fans year round and because it’s healthier than a cookie and relatively low in calories, you can have your cake and eat it too ;). It’s of course vegan, and can be made gluten-free by using brown rice flour instead of whole-wheat.

Vegan Gingerbread Muffins

Ingredients (makes 9-12 muffins):

2 cups whole wheat, spelt, or brown rice flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cloves

1 and 1/2 tsp. dried ground ginger

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup blackstrap molasses

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (add more if the consistency is too dry)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin tin with muffin paper or spray with nonstick spray

Measure dry ingredients and add together in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.

Measure wet ingredients (molasses, applesauce, almond milk) and add to the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix together well until the batter is uniform in consistency.

Using an ice cream scooper or large spoon, spoon the batter into muffin tins

Bake for 20-25 minutes. The muffins are ready when a toothpick or fork can be inserted into the center and comes out dry.

Having some overripe bananas in your kitchen is a great “excuse” to make this healthy, vegan, banana bread. This recipe is equal parts nutritious and delicious, especially for summer. Bananas are high in potassium and with increased sweating comes an increased need for electrolyte replenishment. Eating bananas (in whatever healthy form appeals to you) is one way to achieve this! I consider this a “treat” to be eaten in moderation, but it’s a healthy one which is a plus. If you’re on a gluten-free diet, feel free to substitute the whole wheat flour for gluten-free flour or almond meal. Also, keep in mind, when using coconut oil in a recipe like this (and in brownies or bar-shaped baked goods), you may want to eat this heated up since coconut oil is solid at room temperature and will harden after cooling.

1/2 to 3/4 cup coconut oil (I used about 3/4 cup. My final product was super moist, but coconut oil is high in calories, so you can adjust this based on your preferences and it’s not going to have a huge effect on the taste).

1 tsp. cinnamon

16 oz. dark chocolate chunks (or chips).

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar together

In a smaller bowl, mash bananas

Melt the coconut oil in the microwave (in a microwave safe dish) for a minute (it will harden quickly if it’s cooled, so do this step shortly before adding to the rest of the ingredients)

Add the applesauce, vanilla extract, and melted coconut oil to the dry ingredients in the larger bowl

Add the mashed bananas to the large bowl

Add in chocolate chips and cinnamon

Stir together until well-mixed

Grease a baking tin or pan (I used a Farberware 9″ square baking pan)

Add the ingredients to the pan and heat for 25-30 minutes (or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean)